Capacitor winding machines



Dec. 10, 1963 R, HINDs 3,113,740

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES Filed oct. 2o. -1961 19 Sheets-Sheet 1 /Pdhad M B ms rney Dec. 10, 1963 R. HlNns 3,113,740

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 19 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 20. 1961 Inventor Dec. 10, 1963 R. HINDs 3,113,740

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 19 sheets-smaakl s Filed 0011. 20, 1961 A Harney Dec. 1o, was.'y R. HlND's i 3,113,740

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES Filed oct. 2o. 1961 19 Sheets-Sheet 4 llllllllllllht nvenlor A Harney Dec. 10, 1963l R. HINDs cAPAcIwoR WINDING MACHINES Filed Oct. 20, 1961 Dec. 10, 1963` R. HINDs CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 19 Sheets-Sheetl 6 Filed Oct. 20, 1961 lll.:

` Inventor @dal @ri/(d B Q l MIM- Attorney Dec. 10, 1963 Filed 0G12. 20. 1961 R. HINDS CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 19 sheets-sheet 'l Dec. 1o, 1963l R. HINDS 3,113,740v

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES a Filed oct. 2o. 1961 19 sheetsheet* 1 1 ummm uw ha@ #5M/w A ttorne Dec. 10, 1963' R. HlNDs CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 1 79 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Oct. 20. 1961 Dec. 10, 1963 R. HlNDs 3,113,740

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES Filed 000. 20, 1961 19 Sheets-Sheet 10 Inventor Harney Dec. 10, 1963 R. HlNDs 3,113,740

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES Filed Oct. 20, 1961 19 Sheets-Sheet 11 Inventor Attorney Filed Oct. 20, 1961 19 Sheets-Sheet 12 Inventor Dec. l0, 1963 R.H1NDs CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 19 Sheets-Sheet 13 Filed 0G15. 20. 1961 Inventar @da A44/, &0

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES Filed oct. 2o. 1961 19 sheets-sheet 14 nvenlor @www 4447@ A tlorney Dec. 10, 1963 R. HlNDs CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 19 Sheets-Sheet 15 Filed Oct. 20, 1961 1M ttorney Inventor ma# l B M41 LDM Dec. l0, 1963 R. HlNDs 3,113,740

CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES Filed 0G17. 20, 1961 19 vSheets-Sheet 16 IIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIH c E E Inventar Attorney Dec. 10, 1963 Filed Oct. 20. 1961 R. HINDS CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 19 vspam-sheet 1v Inventor naxf( Dec. 10, 1963 R. HlNDs CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINES 19 Sheets-Sheet 1B Filed Oct. 20. 1961 Dec. 10, 1963 R. HlNDs 3,113,740

' CAPACITOR wINDING MACHINES Filed Oct. 20. 1961 19 Sheets-Sheet 19 2e? I 23 /265 L u fig. 29a.

Inventar @daf WWQ,

United States Patent M3540 @APACHR WlNDlNG MACHINES Ronald Hinds, l2 Whitefield Road, Stockton Heath, England Filed (het. 2h, 1961, Ser. No. 149,804 2S Claims. (El. 242-56.1)

This invention relates to apparatus for manufacturing rwound capacitor-s of the kind comprising two or more llexible strips Wound together .in the fonm; of a roll; the strips may be composite strips, consisting of a strip of dielectric material having la conducting Icoating on one or both sides, or strips of dielectric material (eg. paper) or stnips of conducting material (eg. metal foil), appropriately selected land arranged to provide two or more electrodes each separated by dielectric material. Two or more terminals may be `inserted between turns of the roll in such a way `as to make contact with the capacitor electrodes and to project from one or both ends of the roll. "l he terminals will usually (although not essentially) be stnips of metal foil and for convenience they will hereinalter ybe referred to as terminal tab-s or tabs An object of the invention is to provide apparatus which winds capacitor elements automatically to the extent that,

:after completing the Winding of one element Lit discharges that element land automatically ycommences to wind another element.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fnachine Whioh inserts terminal tabs into the roll, as it is being wound, `at predetermined radial distances from the axis or the roll 'and at predetermined angular relationship with each other, respect to the roll `axis.

A further object of the invention is to provide a twopart mandrel for use in the automatic capacitor winding machine in which, on completion of the winding of a oapacitor element (in the onn of a roll), the two pants are readily separated from each other to release the roll and can then be brought `together again, one on each side of the composite strip of material severed from the roll, to enable the winding of another element to commence.

ln accordance with the invention la capacitor winding machine comprises means for automatically carrying out the following steps .in the followingr sequence: rotating a two-part mandrel when in a first position, to draw strips of llexible material through a `guide which bring-s them into the form ol la composite strip and to `wind them in that form on to the mandrel to build up a capacitor element: moving the mandrel away from the guide into a second position after a predetermined length of the composite strip has been Awound on the mandrel: stopping the rotation of the mandrel when Iit is in a predetermined angular position ywith respect to its `axis of rotaton: applying a clamp to the composite strip, 'between the first and second position of the mandrel: severing the composite strip between the clamp and the mandrel: separating the parts or" the mandrel to release the capacitor element: and bringing the parts ofthe mandrel together again about the composite strip between the guide and the clamp, whereby on release of the `clamp further rotation of the mandrel initiates the Iwinding of another capacitor element.

ln `accordance with a further feature of the invention the capacitor winding machine comprises means for automatically carrying out the following steps in the following sequence: 'stopping the mandrel when it is in a predetermined angular position and a predetermined lenth of tieni-oie material has been wound thereon: insenting a rst terminal tab between ya pair of strips being Wound on the mandrel in contact [with one electrode of the capacitor: rotating the mandrel through a predetermined tangle (which may be less than or greater than 360): inserting sa second tenminal tab between a pair of strips 'being Iwound on the mandrel in Contact with another Patented Een. l, i963 ICC 2 electrode of the capacitor and again rotating the mandrel to `continue :the winding operation.

in :accordance with anon feature of the invention the mandrel comprises two ngers ywhich lit together side fby -side to make up the barrel on which the roll is wound, each linger being provided near its root (that is, near the end from which it is supported) with means for receiving the free end of the other inger and urging it towards the axis .of the mandrel. This rnc-ans prefer-ably consists of and will Ihereinafter be described as one ot a pair of coaxial sockets rom which the lingers project. The faces ol :the two fingers which l-ie ladjacent to each other are provided at or near cach socket `with a projection or projections which maintain a small clearance between these faces of the fingers, even after the free end of each linger has entered the rsocket associa-ted with the other finger. Thus projections may be lformed on the faces of the lingers at or near the roots of the lingers or each finger have la projection both lat or near its tree end at or near its root, both cooperating with `similar projections on the other lingers, to maintain the desired spacing between the dat faces of the linger-s. When `a pair of cooperating projections are provided `at each of the -ina-ndrel in this way, we prefer to `make the projections naar the roots of :the lingers the main projections, providing the greater part of the cleaiiance, and the projections neer the free ends of the lingers minor projections. 'The disposition and height of the projections is such that when the mandrel carries a roll of strip material the lingers are loaded as beams and While the lingers `are being withdrawn from roll they are loaded as c-antilevers.

The mandrel is mounted for rotation about its axis `and incorporates means for withdrawing the fingers one rom the other, in opposite direction" along the mandrel axis, to leave a grap between the free ends of the lingers of a width greater than the arial len h of the capacitor element and for returning the lingers to a position in which the Jfree end or" each `finger ente-rs die socket from which the other finger projects. The lingers are preferably of substantially semiscylindrical cross-section so that when fitted together they lorrn a cylindrical barrel.

rhe root of each linger is preferably cylindrical, with its taxis coinciding with the axis of the iba-nrel, `and is preferably a sliding t in the socket fnom which the ting-er projects. With this construction, when the fingers are withdrawn from` `each other to discharge from the man drol ya roll of matenial wound on the barre-l, the sockets can remain :stationary vwith respect to each other. We prefer to key the lingers to guide :tubes integral with or attached to the socket to allow for such relative longitudinal :movement between the 1in-gers and the socsets while at the seme time preventing relative rotation between the fingers tand the sockets, about the Iaxis of the barrel. rthis enables the barrel to tbe rotated to wind material thereon by rotating the two sockets at the same speed.

As the guide through which the various strips are drawn on to the mandrel, we prefer to use a pair of rollers mounted with their axes parallel to the axes of the supply coils of material from which the various strips are withdrawn, by rotation of the mandrel, the rollers being biassed towards each other to form a nip in which the strips are brought together in the form of a composite strip.

When the capacitor is wound from separate strips of dielectric material, eg. paper, and conducting material, eg. metal foil (hereinafter for convenience referred to as paper and metal foil) it is necessary to cut the metal foil strips before cutting the composite st issuing from the guide (hereinafter rererred to as the nip) to avoid short circuiting between the metal foils at the beginning the element of the roll forming the capacitor element.

We prefer to carry out this operation as follows. Be- 

1. AN AUTOMATIC CAPACITOR WINDING MACHINE COMPRISING (A) MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A SUPPLY OF FLEXIBLE STRIPS SUITABLE FOR FORMING A CAPACITOR ELEMENT, (B) A GUIDE, (C) MEANS FOR LEADING THE STRIPS THROUGH THE GUIDE TO BRING THEM INTO THE FORM OF A COMPOSITE STRIP, (D) A TWO-PART MANDREL ON WHICH THE ELEMENT CAN BE FORMED COMPRISING TWO FINGERS, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING EACH FINGER FROM ONE END ONLY IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY FIT TOGETHER SIDE BY SIDE TO MAKE UP A BARREL ON WHICH THE ELEMENT IS WOUND WITH THE TWO SUPPORTING MEANS AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE BARREL, MEANS LOCATED NEAR THE ROOT OF EACH FINGER, THAT IS NEAR THE END FROM WHICH IT IS SUPPORTED, FOR RECEIVING THE FREE END OF THE OTHER FINGER AND URGING IT TOWARDS THE AXIS OF THE MANDREL AND AT LEAST ONE PROJECTION ON THE FACE OF EACH FINGER THAT LIES ADJACENT AND PARALLEL TO THE CORRESPONDING FACE OF THE OTHER FINGER NEAR ITS ROOT, RISING TO A PREDETERMINED HEIGHT ABOVE THE FACE, WHEREBY A PREDETERMINED SMALL CLEARANCE IS MAINTAINED BETWEEN THESE FACES OF THE FINGERS, (E) A CLAMP FOR THE COMPOSITE STRIP, (F) MEANS FOR ROTATING THE TWO-PART MANDREL WHEN IN A FIRST POSITION, TO DRAW STRIPS OF THE FLEXIBLE MATERIAL THROUGH THE GUIDE AND WIND THEM IN THE FORM OF A COMPOSITE STRIP ON TO THE MANDREL TO BUILD UP A CAPACITOR ELEMENT, (G) MEANS FOR STOPPING THE MANDREL WHEN IT IS IN A PREDETERMINED ANGULAR POSITION AND A PREDETERMINED LENGTH OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAS BEEN WOUND THEREON, (H) MEANS FOR INSERTING, WHILE THE MANDREL IS STATIONARY, A FIRST TERMINAL TAB BETWEEN A PAIR OF STRIPS BEING WOUND ON THE MANDREL AND IN CONTACT WITH ONE ELECTRODE OF THE CAPACITOR, (I) MEANS FOR ROTATING THE MANDREL, AFTER THE FIRST TERMINAL TAB HAS BEEN INSERTED, THROUGH A PREDETERMINED ANGLE, 